Feller after slalom:

“It hurts a lot, another stupid mistake on my part”

Manuel Feller finished ninth in the Kitz slalom and was disappointed.(Bild: GEPA)

Once again, no victory or even a podium finish for Manuel Feller this season. "It was another stupid mistake on my part. It hurts a lot," the Tyrolean was disappointed after the Kitzbühel slalom. "We owe the Austrian ski fans a lot at the moment."

Manuel Feller finished ninth in the Kitzbühel slalom, practically lying in the snow on his final run, but stayed on course and demonstrated his enormous basic speed. "I tried it, it just doesn't want to be, especially not here, not this year in general. It hurts a lot," said a frustrated Feller on the ORF mic.

Manuel Feller(Bild: GEPA)

Four times eliminated, four times in the top ten - that's the slalom season record of last season's bullet winner. Feller has never stood on the podium in Kitzbühel. Feller's top result to date was fourth place last year. His personal Ganslernhang history includes a total of four failures. Two years ago, he was ahead at the halfway point and was eliminated in the final; in 2019, Feller was disqualified because he didn't notice a thread.

The setup would have worked really, really well today - I have to compliment him on that. It hurts all the more if I don't get to the point.

Manuel Feller

Feller: "I didn't do enough in the first run - especially in the middle section. But somehow it wasn't, because it put me in exactly the situation I actually wanted. That I didn't have to think about what tactics to use. That's how I usually ride best and most stable, when I'm riding at full attack."

"Once again, it was a stupid mistake on my part. The setup would have worked really, really well today - I have to compliment that. It hurts all the more when I don't get it right."

"I'm up there to compete for the win"
 "I've been at the level where I can win in the World Cup for ten years now, and apart from two or three years, I've always had a lot of fast turns, but in very few races from top to bottom," explained the 32-year-old. "I'm not at the start for - this is going to sound stupid - a tenth place. I'm up there to compete for the win. I hope that I can ski for another one, two or three years, that I can still show what I can do."

"We owe the Austrian ski fans a lot at the moment"
Collectively, the race was not a highlight for the ÖSV in terms of results either, with Marco Schwarz finishing in sixth place. "We owe the Austrian ski fans a lot at the moment," commented Feller. "In general, I hope that we finally show what we can do. The only one showing it at the moment is 'Blacky'. Skiing like that after an injury - you can only take your hat off and express your respect."

For Feller and the technical specialists, the night races in Schladming are on the program next week on Tuesday and Wednesday (28/29.1.).